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[ laughter ] those are beautiful. we'll talk to lisa peterson from the akc in the after the show show. eric and ali. >> alisyn: see you tomorrow on "fox & friends". aren't we on this flu. fox news alert on a friday, everybody. chances are you know someone affected by this nasty wave of flu. the government calls it the outfrak -- outbreak a classic epidemic. we're waiting from the centers for disease control. martha: good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. this is the story. the flu is spreading across much of the country. 41 states reported high numbers of infection. look at that spreading all over the place. massachusetts is one of the hardest hit areas. boston, one of the nation's

largest cities. it is a big concern. bill: the vaccine supply already said to be running low. jonathan serrie live in atlanta where the cdc is head qaur ird. -- headquartered. is that the term, jonathan. >> reporter: cdc is staying away from epidemic. the flu is high in some states flu is at epidemic proportions. in other areas the cdc says the flu is at ebb and flow. it may be showing signs of diminishing in some regions such as portions of the south. they're not calling this a national epidemic. they say the ebb and flow is typical of flu seasons and they are going to update us around the numbers around 10:00 this morning. so they are still urging people to go out and get vaccinated because flu may continue to be with us for the weeks ahead, even in these areas where the flu appears to be easing up somewhat. they say that especially

children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions should get vaccinated, bill. bill: what about the vaccinations? has it prompted an uptick in those flu vaccinations? >> reporter: all the media coverage and anecdotal stories you may have heard from family and friends how bad this year's flu is prompted a lot of people to go out to their doctors and drug stores. that has created some reports of spotty, temporary shortages. so public health officials say that you should call ahead. make sure that your health provider is stocked with flu vaccine. if they're temporarily out call another provider because they likely are well-stocked. we checked in with a nurse at a local cvs minute clinic who said she has seen an increase in patients over the past couple weeks. listen. >> we're definitely seeing across the nation in our minute clinics. people are seeking out the flu vaccine, they are sick and being seen.

we're doing our best to meet demands of the population here in the states. >> reporter: the question everyone wants to know, how effective is this year's vaccine? public health officials say it is a good match for the major viruses in circulation. the cdc is still crunching the numbers, based on preliminary evidence they're expected to announce later this morning the vaccine effectiveness is somewhere in the area of 60%. in other words, if you got this year's flu shot you are 60% less likely to get the flu this year. this is pretty typical of a typical vaccine for a typical flu season. far from perfect but public health officials say vaccination is still the most effective way to reduce your chances of getting the flu. bill: as you point out. we'll look forward to the update coming within the hour. jonathan serrie in atlanta, leading our coverage there. martha. martha: as we were saying massachusetts is very hard hit. the flu cases are way up there. hospitals and clinics are packed. people are looking for treatment are those last

minute vaccines. >> i saw on the news last night that there was 18 deaths and that kind of freaks my family out. we looked up the clinics and this one was open for tonight. rather just it, be safe and be sick to take time off work and just miserable being sick. martha: good thinking. the experts say as bill was discussing with jonathan. it is not 100% if you get the flu vaccine but it is your best defense, your best shot. bill: when somebody gets it around here, we all feel it. martha: we all feel it. bill: come on, get better, come on back to work. there are new concerns though, we might be simply running out of the vaccine. the largest producer of the vaccine in the u.s. says it sold out in four of the six different doseages it makes, mostly due to high demand and companies reporting a shortage of the liquid form of tamiflu. that is used to slow or stop the symptoms of the flu. that drug can only taken the very first few days of

flu-like symptoms. manufacturers warn of an imminent delay of shipment. >> here is context on the flu vaccine. manufacturers made 135 million doses of the flu shot for the 2012-2013 season. according to the cdc, about 128 million have already been distributed. 35 to 40% of population is vaccinated every year to prevent the flu virus. bill: the cost of the flu is shocking too if you think about the raw numbers. here in the u.s. alone annual direct costs estimated at $10.4 billion. that includes hospitalization, doctors visits, medications. additionally, up to 111 million work days are lost because of the flu alone. that is an estimated $7 billion a year in sick dice and lost productivity. if you're at home watching this and you've got it, get well soon. martha: the national rifle association is not very happy with the meeting they had yesterday with vice president joe biden. the nra says the talk was less about making kids and

more about attacking the second amendment. the vice president says that he will make his recommendation to the president of what he thinks they should do on tuesday. >> there's bottom to be some common ground here to not solve every problem but diminish the probability that what we've seen in these mass shootings and --. martha: peter doocy on this live from the white house this morning. so, peter, why specifically was the nra so unhappy with sort of the tenor of that meeting? >> reporter: martha, because as you just said, from where the nra was sitting at that meeting, they feel that the focus was too much on what they describe as an agenda to attack the second amendment and not enough on keeping children safe and the nra president, david between, who had a chance to sleep on what his representative at that meeting told him, went on a d.c. radio station this morning and why he thinks the biden-led task force

will fail. >> we feel very strongly that gun crime needs to be prosecuted vigorously and that is not happening under this administration. the president and the vice president on the other hand, blame everything on firearms. and we know enough and we have a little experience with firearms and what works and what doesn't work to think what they're talking about is essentially cosmetic, feel-good legislation that will not prevent another newtown, much as they would like to do that. >> reporter: vice president biden said yesterday that he thinks a great deal can be done to reduce gun violence without impinging on the rights guaranteed by the second amendment but the nra clearly, martha, sees things a little bit differently. martha: yeah, they clearly do and in all of the discussions about this, peter, everybody seems to feel that there are a number of sort of legs to this stool in terms of thinking about a solution. so the vice president has a couple more meetings on this today, right? >> reporter: he does. it's very complex. everyone acknowledges it is

a very complex issue. today at 2:15 the vice president will host some representatives from the videogame industry. we haven't seen monday's schedule yet. since he told his boss, president obama, he will have the recommendations on his desk by tuesday this is likely one of the final meetings. the vice president said just about everyone he met so far agrees on one thing. >> i never quite heard as much talk about the need to do something about high-capacity magazines as i have heard spontaneously from every group that we've met with so far. >> reporter: the fact the vice president is meeting from silicon valley just one day after he met with representatives from the entertainment industry signals that this administration is not just focusing on guns and ammunition but also on the way that guns and ammunition are seen on the big screen and on computer screens. martha? martha: peter, thank you. peter doocy. bill: we are learning more

information now about a shooting at a high school in taft, california. that is about 100 miles north of l.a. police say a 16-year-old student planned the attack on two students who he claims had bullied him. he took a shotgun belonging to his brother, opened fire at the school, injurying one student. then a teacher reportedly talked him into surrendering. today that teacher is being hailed as a hero. >> i first want to commend the teacher. i think he saved many lives today, his actions, his time, his ability of what he did in protecting the students there. >> the heroics of these two people, goes without saying to stand there and face someone that has a shotgun, who already discharged it and shot a student that says, speaks volumes for these two young men and what they may have prevented. they could have just easily tried to get out of the classroom and left students and they didn't and they knew not to let him leave that classroom with that

shotgun and they took that responsibility on very seriously and we're very proud of the job they did. bill: this is north of l.a. the police are not releasing the suspect's name. they're still investigate the motive. taft, california. martha: the pentagon is bracing for some massive changes. defense secretary leon panetta says drastic cuts to the defense department were just delayed after the fiscal cliff and they are starting to get ready for what they know is coming down the pipeline over the next couple months. they will begin taking steps to freeze civilian hiring and to delay some contract awards, all of this if congress can not reach a deal on the final spending plan. as you remember they delayed the whole thing by about six weeks. so the pentagon is facing spending cuts of nearly $500 billion over a decade and an additional 110 billion in automatic spending cuts in military and domestic programs by early march. some asking why just defense? why not other areas like entitlements but that one is baked in the cake.

bill: another story on related matter. we'll talk to stephen hayes in a moment on that spending. at the white house house today this will be an interesting meeting. president obama and afghan president hamid karzai talking about america's future role in the war in afghanistan. the state department says several topics on the agenda but top of the agenda, whether any u.s. forces will stay behind after the drawdown date that has been established for 2014. >> a full range of issues are going to be discussed. the economic transitions, regional integrations, support for the afghan reconciliation efforts, those will all be central themes. bill: u.s. commanders in afghanistan proposing keeping 6 to 15,000 u.s. troops after 2014 but officials say the president will be opening to pulling all of them out? a news conference scheduled for later this afternoon. we'll have live coverage here on the channel on that. some suggestions you get into negotiations say we'll all leave unless you get your act together. we'll see how that goes at white house.

joint press conference. >> so a jam-packed show for you on this friday morning. first a kidnapped 5-year-old is found 19 years later. so where has this little boy been for all these years? the clue that led the police to him, an unbelievable story. bill: sure is. this is said it be the future of air travel and it is here but the federal government stepping up after props reported in some of boeing's new dreamliner jets. we'll tell you about what those problems are all about. martha: a teacher shocking students in the classroom. and outraging a community by desecrating the american flag as part of his class. we'll tell but the controversial lesson that has a south carolina teacher perhaps about to lose his job. >> he took the flag and he said that it was just a symbol of america and it was just a piece of cloth with colors on it. [ male announcer ] with over 50 delicious choices of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant...

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martha: this has been an interesting one to watch.

some new developments in hobby lobby's fight over providing insurance coverage for the mourning after pill. the company's attorney now says they found a way to delay providing that coverage. they will shift the plan year for employees, delaying it by a few months while the company fights that mandate in court. hobby lobby is fighting the mandate on the grounds it violates the religious beliefs on their founder and ceo. bill: this could be a battle, a battle over the president's nomination for jack lew as treasury secretary. republican senator jeff sessions has become the first senator that vows to vote no on that nomination. white house spokesman jay carney with this comment just yesterday that got some attention about our out of control debt. >> most importantly, because deficit reduction is not a goal, a worthy goal unto itself this is all about making our economy stronger and making it more productive and allowing it to create even more jobs. i mean that is the most important thing when it

comes to economic policy as far as the president's concerned. bill: okay. steve hayes, senior writer, "weekly standard", fox news contributor. interesting comment i think at a minimum. specifically on senator sessions, strong words. lew must never be treasury secretary. he calls outrage just testimony, testimony that he doctors false, that lew gave to the senate budget committee two years ago. there is baseline of information we need to share first of all. what is that about the testimony? >> well, i think the thing has senator sessions so upset that jack lew went before his committee and in effect said the president's budget was going to balance. the plain facts and easy math suggestions that it won't balance and everybody knows it won't balance that one of things that has others not just senator sessions upset, this is a way to highlight the spending more broadly. bill: to be clear on your view you think it is

indisputable sessions was right and jack lew was wrong and lew misled congress in his testimony. explain. >> you can't make the argument, make the claim that the administration, that their budgets were in balance. it is preposterous both in the short term and long term by easy math. all you have to do is get out a calculator and it is clear the administration's budgets haven't balanced. if you look at the overall amount of debt added since january 20th of 2009, you're talking a number that is approaching $6 trillion or almost $20,000 per citizen in the united states. that hasn't been an administration that has been serious about spending or taken seriously this question of debt and deficits. bill: as you just heard from jay carney. >> right. bill: some would argue when you start comments, debt is not the biggest deal. it is getting economy going again. if we could do it in tandem, we would be flying through the roof. if jack lew is confirmed as treasury secretary, he will be treasury secretary at a

time we debate yet again all these big fiscal issues and you believe there is opportunity for republicans on this. how? >> sure. if you look at what we're likely to be debating even before he is being confirmed, look at confirmation hearings likely in the next four to six weeks, what will we be talking about? we'll talk about this new fiscal cliff. we'll talk about the continuing resolution to continue to fund government. we'll be talking about lifting the debt ceiling a number about issues that the administration has to deal with immediately now on questions of spending and size and scope of government that will coincide with these confirmation hearings. there is no question in my mind that republicans are going to focus heavily on those issues with jack lew who has experienced at the office of management and budget before he became chief of staff to the president and wants to be elevated to treasury secretary. that will be the focus. i think they will try to frame him as really the face of the administration's handling of debt and deficits over the first term. bill: simple question in this too, what would you

cut? where are your spending cuts? >> yeah. bill: put them on the table. how would you balance the budget? how would you get control of out of control debt? >> exactly. in particular, entitlement spending. we haven't had a proposal from the president, when timothy geithner who would be jack lew's predecessor if in fact confirmed was asked, what would you do on entitlements? he looked at paul ryan said, i don't know what we would do but we don't like your plan. that is not going to be a good enough answer for jack lew. bill: we'll get sessions on the air starting next week. we'll see who else is on his side. stephen hayes, thank you. >> thanks, bill. bill: in washington with us today. martha, what's next? martha: what's next is this. we're waiting for new numbers. they're expected to come out in the next hour or so to the extent of this deadly spread of the flu outbreak and there are some new questions whether enough is being done to protect schools with all this. we'll tell you the length of some schools are going to now to disinfect.

bill: more than washing your hand, huh? if you saw a pair of men walking through your neighborhood carrying assault rifles what would you do? two guys exercising their second amendment rights here. >> we were educating, letting people know they can come up and talk to us. we're very friendly, said hi to people. we let people know that guns are not bad things. ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. make it worth watcng. introducing the 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit. [ bop ] [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all you want, i don't like v8 juice. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit. but what you taste is the fruit. so even you... could've had a v8. is a fantastic experience. 30 shrimp for $11.99. i can't imagine anything better. you're getting a ton of shrimp, and it tastes really good!

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bill: two men exercising their right to carry firearms causing a bit of a scene in portland, oregon. neighbors calling police as these two men walked through residential areas with an ar-15 assault rifle on their back. police did not issue any citations because the men had proper license to carry but uneasy locals dialed 911 rather, as you hear from this call. >> they're walking around

freaking everybody out down there. they know what they're doing but they are not breaking any law. >> not used to seeing two guys walk down the road with assault rifles strapped to their back. >> that is not the neighborhood to be doing that crap in. >> i don't know if they're getting out of the neighborhood or not. bill: the two men were saying they were educating the community about legal and safe use of guns. >> we did mind the school posting of signs. we don't want to cause any trouble with that. we totally respect, there is, you know, a little bit of emotional sensitivity towards that. and, and it is just, we were walking the streets. >> this is a very family-friendly neighborhood and so to know there are men walking around exercising their second amendment rights as licensed gun owners, that's fine but not, not the way i would choose to exercise my right and in protest or make a statement. seems really inappropriate

and, potential tensionly dangerous. bill: the men were carrying same rifles used in shootings in newtown, connecticut, and aurora, colorado. that steer from port and, oregon, on the west coast. martha: to this one. an indiana mother who never thought she would see her kidnapped son again, overjoyed after police found him nearly 20 years later. richard wayne landers, jr., here he is as a little boy. he is now 24 years old. he disappeared with his grandparents during 1994 during a very bitter family custody battle. david lee miller is here with the latest. david, tell us more about the circumstances of this whole thing. >> reporter: let's start with the backstory here because it really is a very compelling one. authorities say richard wayne landers, jr., was abducted by his paternal grandparents because when he was five years old because they were unhappy with anding c. his grandparents, richard ruth landers raised him

since he was born. his father was never in part of his life. but his mother was trying to get visitation. the grandparents took 5-year-old richard and disappeared without a trace from their home in wilcox vil, indiana. years of searching turned up absolutely nothing. in september, everything changed when the missing stepfather gave the boy's social security card to the indiana state police. that led to discovery of a man with same social security number living 567 miles away in long prairie, minneapolis. at lost last the search was over. >> the family has been grieving nonstop last 18 years. they have not been giving up hope and giving tidbits to the investigators. we want to close those case files. there are a lot of happy law enforcement officials in la grange county right now. >> reporter: the grandparents who authorities say abducted the boy were living in minnesota. criminal charges against them were dropped years ago after the case went cold.

martha? martha: what has reaction been, david lee, to finally locating this boy? >> reporter: best way you can describe it is bittersweet. the indiana police sergeant who worked the case says there are no plans in the works for a reunion. in his words, a bombshell was dropped on this young man the last few days. now, as for his mother, she is reportedly jumping up and down with joy. the son she never knew is now 24 years old and married. although living under an assumed name he eventually gave authorities his real last name, landers, suggesting he might have known his true identity. martha? martha: that will be a difficult reunion, a tricky family situation, but no doubt the mother is overjoyed. david lee, thank you. bill: remarkable too. got some breaking news now in the world of politics. get this the u.s. senator jay rockefeller, a democrat, says he will not seek a sixth term representing his home state of west virgina.

associated press reporting this now. he is 75 years old. recently sparring with the state's mining industry over the future of coal in west virginia? that's a hot topic. he has supported president obama who is deeply unpopular in that state. rockefeller telling the appublic service dominating his life for 50 years, he says. plans to retire in 2014 and devote more time to his family and vowed to remain a west virgina. jay rockefeller retiring. >> there is more trouble for one of the world's most technologically advanced passenger planes. the feds are getting involved in this we expect announcement on the bowing dreamliner any moment. we'll tell you if travelers need to be concerned. bill: here is fighting words. plan for the president obama's second term is embarrassing as hell. his words, not mine.

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bill: here now some breaking news. show you a live look, department of transportation. ray lahood just starting a statement on the boeing's dreamliner jet. this is 787. this comes after a string of incidents involving the popular and futureriesic airliner. apparently what lahood is talking about a comprehensive review of the 787 line. dan springer live in seattle, that is home of the commercial headquarters for boeing. the big question after numerous incidents, four or

six by my count, are these planes safe to fly, dan? record. >> reporter: according to the "seattle times", quoting a source familiar with the investigation that will be launched here, there is nothing to say this isn't imminent safety issue for customers. this is that needs to be taken out of service for precaution. this will be a sweeping review of the 787 and will include the design and manufacturing of the planes's electrical system. while this is going on the dreamliner will continue to fly. there are 49 currently in service wordwide this review is being ordered by the federal aviation administration and national transportation board investigation of a battery fire in boston earlier this week we reported on. nippon airlines reported two other problems on two separate dreamliners today. one had a cracked cockpit windshield. the other had a oil leak the boeing spokesman downplayed serious of both issues. industry analysts say

so-called birthing issues are common for new airplanes but the faa is obviously concerned about the rash of electrical problems all at once. there were three separate problems in december. the dreamliner is the first to use a lithium ion battery and generates the four times the amount of power than any other jetliner out there, bill. bill: it is the future and the future is here. what does it mean for boeing, dan? >> reporter: this review is obviously a setback. boeing sold 800 dreamliners before even one was in the air. there was about, there was a lot of buzz about the plane because it was sold as a revolutionary design, a lighter composite plane that will use about 20% less fuel but this week's fire threatened to erode confidence in the plane and that is why boeing immediately called a videoconference with all of its customers. we have not heard about any cancellations at this point but certainly everyone is going to be watching to see what the faa comes up with. as a company boeing remains very profitable. it has about $20 billion on

hand and 4200 airplanes on back order but, it could be facing some labor problems as well. negotiations with its engineers have stalled and a strike vote we are told could come as early as next week, bill? bill: dan, something to watch. the hearing continues or rather the statement continues in washington. dan spring in seattle. a bit more context on boeing and its dreamliner. more than 800 are on order by 58 customers. the plane's wingspan tops 197 feet. that is 2/3 of a football field. a look at boeing last year delivered a total of 601 overall. that is the most since 1999 and the first time in a decade that it surpassed airbus in deliveries. 36 past the hour. martha: back to politics now. long-time democratic congressman charlie rangel is criticizing president obama for a lack of diversity in his cabinet nominations. here is charlie rangel's quote. it is embarrassing as hell.

we were all this with mitt romney and we were very hard on mitt romney and binder of woman and things and i kind of think there is no excuse with a second term. that is what charlie rangel had to say yesterday afternoon. joined by juan williams, fox news political analyst and mary katharine ham, editor-at-large at hotair.com and a fox news contributor. welcome to both of you. happy new year. haven't seen you since everybody got back. great to have you here. juan, what do you think of the comment by charlie rangel? >> i think he is on target. it is a lot of talk, not only interesting focused in terms of absence of women in the now famous picture from the oval office where obama is surrounded by senior staff and all male except for the leg, barely visible of valerie jarrett. you know, charlie rangel went on to saying i thought was really telling. he said it is a harvard problem. you just know certain people from your college or background and those are people you trust and

elevate. so there's a lack of diversity in terms of women but also a lack of diversity in terms of minority. i think most glarerying, lack of diversity lack of people come from anything but that harvard guy background. martha: that is interesting. margaret carlson made a similar argument in her column. basically said he was being lazy. he was spending time with john kerry during the campaign so he picked him. he likes chuck hagel and he picked him. that may be vast oversimplification. margaret carlson made the same point. mary katherine, it would bother me more if i president hadn't done a thorough job thinking this through than whether it was women, minorities white people, whatever they are. >> if charlie rangel thinks it is embarrassing you are really in trouble. as much as i kid about him i appreciate him holding the president to account on this let's be clear, he ran on this to a great extent. his presidency was to prevent an alleged all

white-male cabinet which would not have been the case with romney but that was sort of implication. and getting all these folks names. i think there is some truth this is the club that he hangs around in and that is perhaps why you shouldn't have been hard on someone like romney for going out and requesting binders full of women. maybe he should send some over to the white house that might be helpful. go ahead. >> no, i thought that was cute. i thought that was very cute. from my perspective the big difference with romney was about policies with regard to minorities and women. i think that is why people voted as they did, don't you mary katherine? martha: i think that may be. >> i think that was part of it. but i think the obama administration made a point, in the campaign made a point we're this kaleidoscope and they can not be that. i don't think that would be case in that cabinet. for that reason he needs to be very careful how to make these appointments. seems no one is on point for this. nobody is in charge. didn't seem that last time around with daschle and

geithner, others not having paid their taxes or vetted properly. martha: really question of actions versus words. who do you surround yourself with? who do you talk to? here is sound bite from october 19th in the heat of campaign. it is worth listening to in light of this conversation. >> you don't want someone who needs to ask for binders of women. [cheers and applause] you don't want that guy. you want a president who is already appointed two unbelievable women to the supreme court of the united states. [cheers and applause] martha: so the first part of that is self-evident. the second part, look, supreme court appointments. >> that's true. martha: hillary clinton. hilda solis. we all know valerie jarrett is probably his closest advisor. is this a whole lot of nothing, juan? >> no, it is a whole lot of nothing. let's give credit first so that everybody understands, that if you do it by statistics he actually has a more diverse cabinet, group of senior executives around

him than the bush administration. not quite as much as the clinton administration. martha: right. >> nonetheless, i think there is a lack of diversity. we just saw the supreme court appointments that you mentioned are two woman. i think there is a lack of diversity in terms of thought. if you look at racial make up, it is lacking in diversity. that picture of senior staff, martha, remember that, these are the closest and people that have the most access to the president it is exclusively male club and i think except for rob ney bores, legislative guy, all white. martha: you guys are the most closest and have access to me. i don't know what that tells you. only because of your brains. that's all i care about. thank you very much. you both. juan, mary katherine. we're pro people, smart people. if you're smart you can come on the show. that is the way it goes. bill: a teacher shocking his students, outraging parents

after desecrating the american flag. he says it was to teach kids in his class a lesson. what was he thinking? >> i was very, very upset. i was just really to the point of shaking when she first told me this. so i just did not want to act, overreact at the very beginning. hamburger helper can help you back. and with box tops for education on every box, it helps you help your school. so you're doing good, just by making dinner. hamburger helper. available at walmart. your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ woman ] if you have the nerve to believe that cookie cutters

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martha: well an agreement now to settle 130 civil damage claims that are connected to the phone-hacking scandal involving the london newspaper, "news of the world". the cost are expected to run in the millions. the publisher of the now closed sunday tabloid faces phone-hacking claims by 180 people. more details on this case are expected to emerge next month after a conference with the high court. news international is a subsidiary of news corporation, the parent company of the fox news channel. bill: 15 minutes before the hour now. what kind of lesson is taught by throwing the american flag on the floor and stomping on it?

that is exactly what a south carolina high school teacher is accused of doing in front of three different classrooms of students. one of those students, with her father, describing what happened last night with greta van susteren "on the record.". >> well, he was teaching us about symbols. he gave us examples such as a cross, symbolizes christianity. and then he took the flag and he said that it was just a symbol of america and it was just a piece of cloth with colors on it. and then he threw it on the ground and somepped on it. >> what was the reaction, maggie, of the students in the classroom? just watching it? anyone say anything to him? >> yeah, we were all very shocked. he made a comment afterwards. he made a comement that he reacted better than other class. he had a girl scream in the other class. >> first person responded was superintendent. he was not aware of this first he heard of this. he would immediately investigate this.

and he also added that he too was a veteran, and that, he did not agree with what may have happened. the very next morning, on friday morning, i received an e-mail from him stating that on the initial investigation, that he has been suspended the teacher, or placed him on administrative leave and that a further investigation was underway. bill: what about this? michael graham, radio talk show host, columnist for "the boston herald." michael, good morning to you. are you there? >> i'm doing great. it is funny, i was in chapin, south carolina over christmas. i grew up in lexington county. my sister lives in chapin. bill: west of columbia. >> yeah. my niece had this teacher for two classes and he is the pinheaded arrogant, aabrasive jerk that everyone thinks that he is. you know what kills me about this? you're in south carolina. you're in chapin. in a community that is very patriotic, close ties to the military. fort jackson is 25 minutes

away. stomping on a flag, not because of teaching impact, not because you have a message to transmit to students, because you want to be the kind of guy stands up in front of the kid and stomp on the flag, show you what i am. it was dumb from the beginning. what is interesting to me over christmas my sister and her friends were talking about this. this actually happen ad month ago. bill: really. >> the school tried to handle it internally and keep it quiet. the parents would not have it. bill: it was one father who asked his daughter repeated questions for a week and filed off a massive e-mail to all the school board members. that is what started ball rolling. we talked to school. they recommended termination. it hasn't been moved on just yet. we'll see if that happens. often times you hear about the stories, desecration of flag, the defense is always free speech, first amendment. you buy that. >> he absolutely has the free speech right to stomp on a flag that he owns and also has the opportunity to suffer the consequences of making that decision and if

you're a public school teacher, and you're intentionally trying to offend your kids and their families well there should be consequence for that. let's point this out. this is south carolina, not here in mass pass where i live and work. am hurst, university of massachusetts, they won't fly the american flag on 9/11. they have professors at am hurst who teach that the plaque is symbol of terrorism. if that is the community standard, that is fine. this teacher knew the community standard. put his thumb in the eye of not one, not two, but three classrooms of kids. i taked to my sister today. what this taught her kids is disternment. using badge judgment matters. bill: south carolina the birthplace of the tea party. duly noted. reacted to the lawyer what the teacher said. wanted to show america was inspirational idea. the physical flag is just a piece of cloth, end quote. >> makes no sense in context, one thing.

number two the notion the symbol is not the thing it symbolizes, what is that? third cradle grade conversations. the write on chalk board america, symbol, not the thing. that symbol. he had nothing to communicate. i like idea of teachers who challenge kids, make my kids think but there was nothing to think about here. i like the idea of trying to get kids say this level, try to reach for idea at this level by pushing them. he was goings to most juvenile. this is nothing. this is, he had nothing to say except for i'm mr. edgy and mr. carpe diem. we all had teachers like that. this is who this teacher is. bill: the teacher is scott compton. we'll see whether or not he will keep his job. >> he will not keep his job. bill: michael, enjoy massachusetts. talk to you soon. >> thanks so much, bill. martha: a major winter blast is replacing sunshine with snow in parts of southern california. it is so bad police had to shut down a highway outside

of los angeles. look at that a lot of sking though. where is the snow headed next? bill and i will tell you next

martha: schools acrosses country are taking precautions to try to keep students and their staff from getting this horrific flu that is going around. this cleaning machine is being used in mentor, ohio. it is a electrostatic sprayer. they can this out. it releases disinfect ant. he would like to use it in the studio. bill: yes, ma'am. martha: used to get in hard to reach areas. school officials believe it is helping but it is environmentally safe. listen. >> it can reach every surface that we might miss. it is strong enough for medical use but it is safe for children. we is found it to be effective. we're happen we're continuing to purchase them

for the district. martha: very interesting. so we're told it takes about 45 minutes to disinfect the entire school? that is pretty good. the machine cost as few thousand dollars. bill: what lingers in the air after that? martha: i don't know. bill: hopefully no flu and no germs, right? martha: yeah. bill: we could use that in the newsroom. i'm telling you. whole new ball game, folks. major league baseball with new rules aimed at stopping players from using performance-enhancing drugs. this is history. this upcoming season the league will conduct random, unannounced blood tests, blood tests for human growth hormones. each player tested at least once during the season. the league is using a new test that will use a more sophisticated drug test. this comes after numerous players associated with performance-enhancing drugs, known as peds failed to make the cut for this year's hall of fame. which is a huge story that went, a lot of people covered it. we didn't talk about it a lot. martha: we talked about it a little bit. bill: barry bonds on paper.

sammy sosa, roger clemens on paper. they set some of the greatest records the game has ever known. martha: would they do it if some cases not definitive that they did but there is very high rate of suspicion for them. you have to send the message to kids too. high school students are starting to use this stuff. college students are starting to use this stuff. you have to send a message to the top of main -- major league baseball. bill: the point i'm making they failed to even get a third of the vote from the writers. that tells me these guys will possibly never be in the hall of fame. martha: does that surprise you? bill: now that it is official, taking it in, yeah. martha: all right. you cheat, you don't get in the hall of fame. that's the way it goes. a lot of talk about that this week. all right. so the centers for disease control just releasing the latest numbers on this flu outbreak that is all across the country. we'll have those brand new numbers for you coming up right after the break. bill: we're awaiting this. a hearing for the suspected

mass murderer james holmes back in court in aurora, colorado. we'll take you there live inside the courthouse aig? we said we were going to turn it around, and we did. woman: we're helping joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the t recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america. we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild --

that's what we do. now let's bring on tomorrow.

martha: fox news alert for you right now. the centers for disease control have just come out moments ago, with their latest update on the outbreak of flu across this country. emergency rooms from the rocky mountains to new england, reportedly swamped with patients. they are overwhelmed in some areas in fact. this is prompting new fears about shortages in the vaccines and tamiflu in this country. brand new hour starting right now on a friday in "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. you wonder if the vaccine works in the first place. we'll find out and figure it out in time. the flu activity was elevated in the first week of january but may be decreasing in some areas. the number of deaths attributed to pneumonia and flu, above the threshold for

epidemic they say. martha: threat's bring in a doctor from the university of van der fwilt medical center. he serves on the commit helps determine what goes into the flu vaccine that makes as effective as possible. thanks for being with us this morning. >> good morning, martha. martha: you might have heard bill's spot. it raises the question about this vaccine, does it work? was it worth it? >> oh, sure. it is going to work but, remember influenza vaccine is a good vaccine but not a perfect vaccine and usually it prevents completely about 60 to 70% of infections. those it doesn't prevent completely usually it makes it milder. it prevents the complications pneumonia, hospitalization and of course death. that is all to the good. it is not perfect yet but we don't want to wait for perfection and get that in the way of doing good now by using the vaccine. martha: you know, you used to be on the committee, as i said that helped to determine what the mix

should be for the vaccine. how well do you think they did this year based on what we're seeing in terms of an epidemic in some places? >> yeah. actually, we have hit it right on target. now, remember, the vaccine, once again can't prevent each and every infection. there are some, there's a strain out there that's not included in the vaccine. we protect against three strains, but there's an additional strain. and, beyond that, there are also lots of respiratory infections of other kinds out there which of course the vaccine can't prevent. martha: yeah. in terms of epidemic obviously people hear that word and it's a frightening word. there's an epidemic level in new york city. in boston we heard about. a public health emergency. what should people's reaction to that be? >> i think you ought to think about getting vaccinated if you haven't yet and you may have to shop around a little bit to find the vaccine. lots of good hand hygiene, and if you do get sick,

please stay home. don't spread it to your friend and relatives. martha: good advice, doctor. from the wonderful vanderbilt medical center. thank you so much, doctor. good to have you here today. >> my pleasure. martha: stay healthy. bill: wash your hands. meanwhile the outbreak hitting pennsylvania especially hard. 11,000 cases already confirmed. rooms nearing capacity. one hospital in allentown, pa, even forced to set up a special tent to deal with the onslaught of patients. rick leventhal at that hospital with more this morning. sound like things are getting worse in that state. are they, rick? >> reporter: they are, bill, the worst they say in at least five years. lehigh valley hospital at cedar crest set up this mobile surge tent to handle the overflow to try to prevent the spread of virus here at hospital. when patients arrive at emergency room, they are assessed, if they have severe conditions they are admitted to the hospital. but if they have mild symptoms they're redirected into the tent where they can be seen by doctors there.

the pennsylvania department of health has designated this year's flu virus, widespread. that is the highest category here. they have seen a real spike in the up numbers in the last couple weeks. 400 of the 11,000 cases reported so far this season were last week. 18 of the 22 statewide deaths also occurred in the past week. they only update numbers every tuesday. so things could have gotten worse in the past couple days since it is trending in that direction. >> we haven't reached the peak yet and we don't know when that will be. the peak may be the end of january. it may be, you know, sometime in february. all we're seeing with our numbers is the numbers continue to rise. we haven't peaked yet. when that will happen, you know, that's, nobody knows right now. >> the majority of deaths in pennsylvania are people over 65, 20 of 22. one of them was an infant who died here in the lehigh valley healthnet work.

bill: what do doctors do to protect themselves, rick and stay healthy. >> reporter: all the staff here get the flu vaccination. doctors, nurses attendants. they get the vaccine and wear masks in many cases dealing with flue patients with symptoms and patients are given masks. the best advice for everyone is wash your hand as frequently as possible, if you have flu-like symptoms, according to the doctors it is not necessarily a reason to go to the emergency room if you have fever and cough and fatigue and sore throat, that sort of thing. the best thing you can do is to stay home. if it is severe obviously you should make a trip to the hospital. bill: rick leventhal in a place hard hit, allentown, pennsylvania. martha. martha: as the flu spreads those of us who keep us safe are trying not to take chances with their health. in wisconsin they're offering flu masks to their officers. they say it is vital to keep everybody on the job. >> when you run a 24/7

operation, one of them drops out. we have to take care of people. >> it is standard procedure with us. it is more enhanced right now. we're talking about a little more. we're putting on mask as little bit faster. martha: well the sheriff's department says it is following the advice of hospitals where flu patients are flooding, as we've been telling you throughout the show. there are emergency rooms that are full to capacity. >> we mentioned this last hour. chances are you know somebody affected by the plus right now. look at numbers on average. more than 200,000 said to be hospitalized every year with the flu. said to be three to 49,000 flu-related deaths annually. that is a big margin. by november of 2012, only 35% of the americans were vaccinated against the virus. experts say the flu season still has six to eight weeks to go. oh. here now fox news alert. awaiting the a hearing for the suspected mass murderer james holmes.

prosecutors say he is the one storming inside of a colorado movie theater last summer opening fire, killing 12, injurying more than 70. today he may be formally charged unless his defense team can delay that. alicia acuna live outside the courthouse, send 10 nall, -- centennial, colorado. near denver. what are we expecting today, alicia? >> reporter: bill, the defense team for james holmes last night in a filing with the court said it is not ready to go forward with an arraignment. the expectation is they ask for a continuance. it will be up to judge william sylvester to decide whether or not to grant that delay. should there be an arraignment this morning then the judge said he will allow a camera in the courtroom but no audio. that means we would see james holmes sitting in court four the first time since his first appearance last july on the monday after the shooting. he looks much different than he did after his arrest. he no longer has the orange-red hair. it is brown and he has a grown a beard. if the arraignment does move

forward then the expectation would be that he would enter a plea today. and we do have our producer in the courtroom today. so we would bring that to you bill. bill: what is new regarding a possible insanity plea, alicia? >> reporter: well the defense has brought up mental illness numerous times. they did so this week all during the three days of the preliminary hearing. if the holmes team goes forward with an insanity defense they won't have to prove a thing. rather in the state of colorado is the burden is on the state of colorado to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that holmes didn't know right from wrong during the time of the murders. there is a risk for the defense. if he goes with the insanity plea he receives a court ordered psychiatric evaluation. the prosecution would receive the results of that psychiatric evaluation. and any sort of doctor-patient confidentiality that holmes had with his psychiatrist would also be opened up as well as the possibility of the notebook that we've

heard so much about he mailed to his psychiatrist. so all of that would be on the table should an insanity defense be pursued, bill. bill: alicia acuna, centennial, colorado. we will watch it when it gets underway. martha, what is next? martha: the national rifle association is firing back after meeting with vice president joe biden's gun violence task force. why the nra says that it was all just political theater. and that the white house has one agenda in mind according to them. bill: how about this weather in the northeast? it's warm out there. mother nature has different plans replacing the sunshine with snow on the west coast. and that severe weather, big storm, might be coming your way. we'll tell you where. martha: a plane ride turns into a real life sam jackson movie, folks. we'll tell you, you see a little something in there? bill: stay away. martha: what a ride for that little guy. bill: more than a kangaroo.

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bill: they are refusing to bury the dead after a brutal terror attack in pakistan. southwestern part of the country. the town of quetta. the victims families demanding the government do something to protect them after twin bombings outside of a pool hall that killed 86 people, mostly shiite. that was one of several attacks across the country on thursday that left 120 dead. making it the nation's deadliest day of violence it has seen in five-year's time. martha: well the nra is now saying that the white house was just quote, checking a box, when they sat down yesterday with vice president joe biden to talk about gun violence which has been the real course of all these meetings over the course of this week. the group says they believe that the obama administration is less interested in protecting children and more interested in attacking the second amendment. so the nra says that the white house is set on

blaming the actual weapon rather than getting tougher on the person using it. here's some of that. >> we feel very strongly that gun crime needs to be prosecuted vigorously and that is not happening under this administration. the president and the vice president on the other hand blame everything on firearms, and we know enough and we've got a little experience with firearms and what works and what doesn't work, to think that what they're talking about is essentially cosmetic feel-good legislation that will not prevent another newtown, much as they would like to do that. martha: there is that as background here. chris wallace joins me right now, anchor of "fox news sunday." good morning, chris. good to have you with us. >> good morning to you, martha. martha: i want to listen joe biden as well and listen closely what he said. everyone is trying to figure out this morning what the white house can accomplish politically in this fight. here is a little bit of joe biden on this. >> as the president said, even if what we do only saves one life it makes

sense, and i think we can do a great deal without in any way imposing on or impingeing on the rights of the second amendment that the second amendment guaranties. martha: so he says we can do something that will save lives without impingeing on the second amendment. so can they and will they, chris, push for an assault weapons ban, do you think? >> that is interesting. there's a story on the front page of "the new york times" today which i assume they got from the white house which indicates that the white house is starting to count numbers on capitol hill, has decided maybe they can't go for an assault weapons ban. they will probably propose it but may well figure that is something they will put out there and not push very hard because they don't think that they will be able to pass it. i think you might see them in terms of legislative actions pushing more for things like a universal background check. that would speak, for instance to david keane, the chairman of the nra's point, look, what is wrong with a background check to find out

whether or not the person who is buying the gun, that is not an attack on weapon. that is going after the person to find out whether or not they meet the right qualifications in terms of criminal record and mental health and all of that. another thing i think that they're going to go after which will be controversial would be high-capacity magazines, 30 rounds, 100 rounds. those kinds of things. but, the indication in "the times" today they may be pulling back in terms of an all-out fight to try to ban assault weapons. martha: and i think that may surprise some people. i mean the polls show that a lot of americans are in favor of an assault weapons ban. we know the background of it is the last time they tried it didn't make a difference in the numbers in terms of murders in this country but it is interesting to me that the bushmaster weapon that was used in connecticut is one of the most popular weapons in america right now in terms of gun sales and semiautomatic handguns, also very, very popular. so there is a big division

in this country, in terms of folks out there buying bushmasters and the people who think there ought to be a ban on such guns. >> obviously there is a huge division in the country about this. and i think there is good faith on both side between people who believe that the second amendment says what, means what it says and, that people have a right to bear arms including semiautomatic weapons and people on the other hand who feel that, you know, we need to stop these, what some are calling weapons of war which can fire so many round so quickly. in terms of the assault weapons, what, i'm, some of my reporting has indicate is that one, they think it would be very hard to get through congress and if they got it through congress they would have to have all kinds of exceptions. that is one of the problems with the assault weapons band back in 1994, there were so many exceptions it still allowed a awful lot of weapons people would consider to be semiautomatic

weapons or assault weapons to be sold. as you say it did not have a dramatic impact on the number of homicide in it country. i think the feeling is, one we have a better chance getting some of these other things through, and two, that they may have more effect, practical effect. martha: politically, chris, in washington, what you just said is that it looks like they could not pass an assault weapons ban in congress, which says that the nra is still very powerful in the town that you work and live in. >> yeah. yes. but it is not just the nra. it is also you have to consider the fact that there are a lot of senators and congressman who come from states, you know, particularly the democrats have been successful in getting democratic senators who for instance are a lot of them up for re-election in 2014 in red states, in pro-gown states. and so, you know, they look at voters. forget about the nra. they look at their voters who don't want to see tough new gun controls and tough new limits on the kind of

guns they can buy. are they going to differentiate the kind of gun they can buy and the kind of magazine they can buy? will they differentiate buying the gun but in all cases going through a background check? that is whether we'll see the administration can get some of this through the congress. martha: we'll all learn what a universal background check would really entail. sounds like that is something they feel they might be able to get through. it is interesting to me, chris, they are saying they will have this commission sort of roll out in terms of what the white house wants on tuesday. they're finishing discussions today. they will speak with media leaders, about that element of all of this but you know, does that indicate, they have already kind of got their plans set and they're not taking into account so much what they're talking about as the nra suggests? >> well, you could argue that. on the other hand you could argue a lot of these subjects have been discussed to death and people know what's involved and you don't need a long study to figure it out. i mean people know there are

sort of three stools here, the gun aspect of it, the mental health aspect and in the society and cultural aspect of movies and videogames. let me quickly put in a plug and say on sunday, we're going to have a really interesting debate because there will be a political campaign over this, martha. the nra as you say, other gun groups will start a very active lobbying campaign up on capitol hill but for the first time the administration is going to start its campaign in a large way, sort of pick up from right where they left off after election day. we'll have the head of the center for american progress, a liberal think tank, and a big supporter of obama, and they will get a lot of gun control groups together to try to persuade people on capitol hill that the politics of this actually favors, don't oppose more gun control. nra will have larry pratt, gun owners of america, on "fox news sunday". martha: have a great show. we'll be watching on sunday. thank you, chris. >> you bet. bill: breaking news now,

take you to the white house. this will be an intriguing meeting about the future of the united states and afghanistan. hamid karzai, the afghan president arriving moments ago. there is a joint statement by hamid karzai and president obama that you will see live here on the fox news channel later this afternoon. but, the future for u.s. forces there, how many forces, what will the afghans agree to. how far will the president push this. we'll all find out together. meantime severe weather, heavy rain, slamming the south. bringing more than a foot of water. reports after tornado up to go down there we' details in a moment where that's happening. martha: and high-flying utility workers keeping the lights on and having the time of their lives doing it. we'll show you. >> we're not adrenaline junkies. we're not out there to do this to get a fix. it is just our cup of tea, if you will. mommy's having a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ]

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martha: this is our favorite story today. new video of real life "snakes on a plane". passenger, look at that tale. eww. fly flying from australia to new guinea, shocked to look out of the window and yes, dear, that is python waving in the window. 10 foot long snake clinging to the wing of the plane until it landed. unfortunately, bill, you will shed tears. the little guy did not survive. bill: what a shame. i would rather see the python at 5,000 feet. martha: how did it get in there is the question, folks? how did it get in there. bill: how did the pilot land the sucker. we have amazing video to show you of a job for those not afraid of heights. utility workers dangle from helicopters to make sure the power stays on for you. fox d.c. has this story. check it out.

>> reporter: if you're one of those people who doesn't like heights you would not want to climb this ladder. >> there is always somebody that thinks we're a little crazy. may have to be a little bit to do it, so. >> reporter: they may be a little crazy but they're looking out for you. they have been hired by virginia dominion power. they arrive at work by md-500 helicopter. >> best way i put it we take all the work of getting to the job site. >> reporter: they work for half very field aviation in gettysburg. most of them are lineman and they're accustomed to danger. >> we're not adrenaline junkies. we're not out there to get a fix. it is our cup oftae. >> reporter: what they're replacing is insulatetores. one of these. these wear out in about 15 years. so far the ones here are okay. but when they stop working, hundreds of thousands of people could lose power. >> right now, what he is doing he is already grounded a line out and he is already rigged up his hoist. and they're taking the old

insulator out, and they're going to put a new insulate tore in. >> you will be glad to know the power is turned off. virginia dominion has been using helicopters for maintenance since the 1990s. they say a better view and faster and less expensive. these lines can go across rivers. they can go across bigger bodies of water. they can go across wetlands. the work we're doing here allows us to have easier access to the transmission lines. >> reporter: ron is the director of line operations. he has been up there and it is hard to hear. >> we use a lot of head signals and hand signals on the structure because the helicopter makes so much noise. >> reporter: they helped restore power after hurricane sandy. he says they're proud, focused and yes, they're hiring. bill: they're hiring. if you want a job. if you want to dangle from a helicopter. half very field aviation on the web. martha: watch the flying

trapeze. >> reporter: beth parker out of washington. nicely done. martha: here is a question for you this morning. should the pictures of the death of usama bin laden be made public? the shots have been kept under wraps. maybe not for long. we'll talk to the head after group that feels very strongly that those images do need to be made public. bill: also, california hardly looking like the golden state now. a major storm coming onshore, leaving drivers stuck and going nowhere. >> we have an incident traveling with us. we're running out of milk. we got dip every changes and, our plans have been changed drastically.

martha: a major winter storm slamming southern california replacing sunshine with snow out there. strong winds, freezing cold temperatures, and it enforced the shut down of a major interstate leaving drivers stranded on the highway. >> i was sleeping in the car, piling on the sweat shirts. >> it's tough traveling with an infant, and then i have to go to work in the morning. i probably won't be home now until like 4:00. martha: they are still not ready for that out there. meteorologist janice dean live in the fox weather center. what is up with that and where is it going? >> it's a flip-flop. we should be getting snow. chicago hasn't seen an inch of snow.

you see temperatures above average. the westess dealing with th west is dealing with the storm. the west we've got this big area of low pressure across the rockies causing certainly problems on the roadways in the air. we could see 12 to 18 inches of snow. great news for the skiers, not so much if you're traveling. and again look at the precipitation and accumulation in terms of snow across the northern rockies, the central rockies. again where we could see 6 to 12, even 18 inches of snow. and blizzard conditions. we have winter weather advisories over a dozen states included here, from the central rockies up towards the northern plains . also want to point out where we had freezing rain watches or advisories and an ice storm warning for northern portions of minnesota. that is going to cause some big problems. in the red shaded here, those are blizzard warnings. we are going to see winds of up to 50 miles per hour blowing that snow around, conditions are

going to be deteriorating fast. it's going to be next to impossible to travel on these roadways. a quick look at your future radar, we will watch the system dissipate. the western storm, that of that energy moving across the mississippi river valley. areas that gotten undate wed undated with a foot of rainfall, incredible, extreme weather is here. martha: there is little white stuff sprinkling over the ski areas. >> we have to go west. martha: i think it's time. thank you, januar janice. louisiana also declaring a state-wide emergency after a suspected tornado tore apart a factory near baton rouge. heavy rain triggered flash floods, a slow moving storm dropping almost a foot of rain trapping people in their homes in some case. emergency crews reported at least 60 rescues they did. residents were really, truly caught by surprise. >> i knew it was going to rain and flood a little bit, but

nothing like this. >> i never seen this much rain here before. this much water sitting or anything like that. martha: terrible. forecasters say that more rain unfortunately headed that way over the weekend. bill: they don't need that. there are new developments now in a legal fight every pictures of a dead osama bin laden. a watchdog group filing a freedom of information request to force the release of images, taken by u.s. forces who killed the terrorist last year. the obama administration blocking it, now the case is moving throughout courts. tom fitness, president of judicial watch was in court yesterday when some of these arguments were heard by the appeals court. tom, how are you and good morning to you. i'm very intrigued by this. make your best case, why should we see them. >> the law requires their release. president obama almost immediately said we don't want to release the photos because we don't want to be seen as spiking the football. our freedom of information act doesn't have any exemption for

spiking the football. and he may think these photos are politically controversial but we don't not follow the law just because the president is uncomfortable with the results of following it. bill: just a matter of as a matter of fact question, what do you think we would gain if we had access to the photos? >> we gain information about one of the most important military victories in the war against tere owe and the american people have a right to these documents under law, and we gain further respect for our rights under law. we have a right to know about this raid and details within reason about the raid. certainly photos of the deceased osama bin laden, like even the funeral of -- his funeral on the aircraft carrier, that is basic information, it's not terribly controversial. that needs to be documented for the historical records. you just can't withhold them because you don't want to release them. that's not the way the law works. bill: i know you're note an attorney, but you were in the courtroom yesterday. you said to me during the

commercial break that you were screaming to yourself inside of your own head when you were hearing some of the questions by the judges. but you're looking for 52 images to go public, and many of them, the attorney for your side argued yesterday that the images on the aircraft carrier should be made public. that seemed to be the root of his argument. the judge is saying, look these images could be used for prop grand today. i heard what you referenced in your first answer there. the president said this on 60 minutes a while ago, it's important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool. that is not who we are we don't trot these things out as trophies. how do you a dress that argument. >> other things could be used as propaganda by terrorist whose don't like us. the law requires the release of this information. this would be the first time that government won't give the american people things they are entitled to, documents they are entitled to because the

terrorists would be u upset about it. one of the judges referenced the benghazi video as causing the death of the ambassador to libya. you know, the judge it seems to me was misinformed about me. bill: which has been debunked. >> maybe you can't believe the president's analysis here, and his analysis may be cogent but it's not the law. his word is not law. the law is these documents need to be released. we hope the court doesn't buy into all of this noise about the riots and things. bill: he when he was cia director leon panetta said they would be released eventually. i don't know if that is weeks, or months or even years. what do you think that answer is? >> i think they will be rye hraoesreleased eventually. even buying into the government's argument the further in time we get from the incident the less controversial the photos are. their argument weakens over time that is for sure. bill: what about the lawyer

arguing forcefully for the photos of the burial, the burial photos on back of the aircraft carrier in the arabian z ar the arabia rabe bee and sea. are those supposed to be less offensive. >> buying into the government's argument that the photos are controversial and cause concern, the gruesome photos, if that's true maybe they withhold the gruesome photos. certainly the photos of osama bin laden's body wrapped up or the funeral service provided to him and describes of which were produced in detail to judicial watch in a separate of freedom of information act request. we already know what happened. why not have photos documenting what happened. we have the right to this information. i don't understand why the government says, well you don't need it, it might cause controversy and therefore our laws reqease should be overruled. we don't rewrite law that way if they don't like it they can go get the laws changed by congress. but we need to follow our principles of american transparency and accountability and get this information,

according to the law, not according to the whims of the terrorists. bill: we'll find out in a couple of months if you win your case. thank you, tom. 20 minutes before the hour. martha. martha: the man accused of opening fire inside a crowded movie theater is back in court today. and we expect that we will see him in just a little while. the question now, though, is will there ever actually be a trial in this case? bill: how about a new gig or mark mark wahlberg. >> we have dangerous weather over here. look at sunday, 60 degrees, just like spring with a lore 43. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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last summer. who can forget when that news started to rollout. the reports now say that his defense team says they are not ready for an arraignment yet, and that they could file for insanity in this case. the victims' families are urging americans not to be fooled by that move. >> a lot of reports about how he's crazy. don't make that mistake. he's not crazy, he's evil. martha: janet johnson is a criminal defense attorney, licensed in colorado. randy zelin is a form prosecutor. welcome, good to have both of you with us. what do you expect today and what do you make of this move for a delay? >> i think it's going to be granted, because the judge doesn't want to make a reversible error. what the defense is saying they'll probably enter a plea of inch sanity. because they've just finished the preliminary hearing the doctors probably need the information they just received, they need more time to get that together. i think it's an inevitable event that is going to happen.

>> randy, i mean obviously this man has exhibited behavior that, you know, most of us who are not psychiatrists would see as deranged. but everybody wants to make sure that there is justice served in this case. so how do you get there? >> well, first of all, unfortunately i think oftentimes justice has little or nothing to do with what people ultimately want. you make a great point, and here is the trick in colorado. in colorado the prosecution has the burden of proving a defendant's sanity beyond a reasonable doubt. typically and you would think common-sense if i'm the defendant and i say listen i didn't know what i was doing, i didn't understand what i was doing. i had an irresistible impulse, i'm not responsible for what i've done, the burden is on me to prove that by what is called the. of the evidence. so as a prosecutor the bad news is the ball is in my court, i've got to prove it. the good news is number one i

get full and unfettered access to the defendant to examine him. he waves the physician-client privilege, and you know what there is plenty of evidence to show planning. martha: yes, and that is exactly the point i wanted to bring up. janet, you know, there is information that he bought a seubgt fo ticket for that movie 12 days prior. he shot video and pictures of himself with a gun in advance of this action. we know he booby trapped his whole apartment, it was part after scheme that had a part two he hoped at the time. how relevant is that to sanity? >> i don't think it is in colorado because there are two prongs. they can either say he didn't know right from wrong. he obviously knew right from wrong. the irresistible impulse that we just talked about i think he will have a shot at that to say i knew the threupbgs things i was planning were bad but i couldn't control myself. the test is basically, if there were a policeman standing there would you still commit the crime knowing you were about to get in

trouble? i think he has a good shot at that. even the testimony this week he didn't look like he knew what was going on when police confronted him. he said he was the joker. that goes into he's having a hard time telling what the reality is even though he knows he's about to do something pwaed can't stobad, he can't stop himself. i think he will prevail in that. i think that will stop him from getting the death penalty, which is the ultimate goal, not getting him off, but to stop him from getting the death penalty. martha: we will be watching the court appearance coming up in under an hour from now. thanks to you both. bill: jon scott rolls your way in 13 minutes "happening now." what is going on, jon. jon: happy friday to you mr. hemmer. that deadly flu outbreak sweepingcross the country, you know it is bad. the centers for disease control out of a new ceasement. the new numbers for you. plus, new guidelines on the strength of sleeping pills that americans rely onto get their z's. are they dangerous? what you need too know awaiting details on a meeting between hamid karzai and president obama.

we could get information today on how many troops will remain behind in afghanistan after 2014. and fox news watch takes on the gun control debate sweeping across the mainstream media like a wildfire. a fair & balanced look at the coverage that hasn't always been fair & balanced. that's coming up on "happening now." bill: looking forward to it. thank you, jon, have great weekend. jon: you too. bill: a first look at a new aircraft. how this airship could save the lives of u.s. forces deep in a war zone. check that out. martha: a big win for a young actress, how they are priceless acceptance speech stole the show.

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after a young actress won big at the critics choice awards last night. 9-year-old quvenzhane wallis reading her acceptance speech off her smartphone. watch. >> i would also like to thank the film critics for this award. thanks to mr. ben zeitland for thinking i could make a good hush puppy. last to my family, friends and fans. good night. [cheers and applause] martha: perfect, perfect. good for her. she is so cute. "beasts of southern wild" actress will need to update her contact list. she has become the youngest best actress academy award nominee ever and she may need to make another speech. that means she must be younger than day tupl o'neal when she one for "paper moon."

bill: ben what is the word? he has knee answer. hno answer. he has 8 minutes. check out a sign it airship that looks like something out of an old fashioned science fix movie. adam housley has had a look at it live in l.a. what do you think. >> reporter: it's a throwback to the days of those huge air ships. what is different this time is it's healy um and they've created something here that is entirely new all together. inside a southern california hangar built during world war ii floats a craft that could revolutionize airtrans port. >> it's very simple, it takes off, lands, and it goes physically anywhere with no infrastructure. >> reporter: it's not a blimp or a balloon but a next generation aircraft made of aluminum and carbon tpaoeurb. it can hold more than 60 tons of tkarg go has a range of 32 # hundred miles and doesn't need a

landing strip. >> this vehicle could go there not have to touchdown off-load the cargo and go on. with the internal compartment of this vehicle there is no itemizing the load. we can rearrange the load internal for the vehicle while it's moving. >> reporter: this is called a proof of design, roughly half the size of what the eventual rigid structure will be. dry weight 36,000 pounds, but when you add healy um to it it becomes buoyant, a 218-pound man can push around a 260-foot airship. the craft operates at one-third the cost of a traditional cargo plane and with the ability to descend vertically and cruise at 120 miles per hour engineers believe the possibilities are endless. >> from a military perspective it's going to create -- it's going to fill up the gap that exists right now. >> reporter: there are only three applications for this. the military, for example when

we were in haiti off the earthquake you wouldn't have to wait for the airstrip to open up. you could levitate above the ground and pick up supplies. air cargo, you could pick up fruits and vegetables from central california and send them straight to ohio: it could be like an air cruise ship and whoever over italy and let martha and the kids go see part of paris or rome or whatever. bill: she was just talking about that. >> reporter: i bet she was. martha: i'd like to get down on the ground and actually see something. i'm not sure about hovering over those places. >> reporter: they let you down, martha. martha: as long as i can get down. we have been talking about this on a more serious note the severe outbreak of flu that has gripped most of the country. how much worse could it get and could there be a vaccine shortage? this is the bad news.